The comparison
Amazon Leo vs Starlink: what you can actually buy today
Amazon Leo vs Starlink, side by side for rural US homes, every fact dated. Amazon Leo is the network Amazon called Project Kuiper until Nov 13, 2025.
Computed positions of 11,112 Starlink and 391 Amazon Leo satellites at 23:30 UTC on October 25, 2026, from CelesTrak orbital elements. Earth imagery: NASA Blue Marble and Black Marble (public domain). Render: Starlink vs Leo from CelesTrak data; Earth imagery NASA (public domain)
Our verdict · checked
Starlink is the one you can order today
Our latest check, on , finds Starlink the only low-orbit satellite service a US household can order. Amazon Leo, formerly Project Kuiper, has no US home service, price or start date yet.
- Starlink: you can order today, and your address sets your price. Read Nov 3, 2026, Starlink's national list had Residential Max at $143/mo and Residential 100 Mbps (available in select areas) at $49.50/mo.
- Amazon Leo: US home price Not announced, US start date Not announced. Amazon's latest target is Initial service later in 2026 Announced (Oct 29, 2026), without saying whether the US comes first.
- Order now if you need dependable internet now and will keep it every month for at least a year. Wait if your connection works and nothing is urgent. Who should wait, and how to order
Who should wait
Wait if…
- Your current internet works for what you do, and nothing about it is urgent.
- Fiber, cable or fixed wireless is due on your road within about a year.
- You need internet for a season, one trip or a short job, not year-round.
- You’d pause it (Standby) between trips or seasons.
- You’d switch networks the week Amazon Leo opens in the US. It has no US date or price yet: see the launch-date page.
- The monthly price is a stretch for your budget.
Not sure which applies? The buy-or-wait tool sorts it out in a minute.
Status check
Where Amazon Leo stands on
Four numbers that decide whether waiting makes sense, each with its source and the day we checked it.
Satellites in orbit
392 Our calculation
A tracker count for Nov 2, 2026: 398 launched, minus 6 that reentered (Jonathan McDowell's tracker). Amazon itself says
nearly 400
.FCC halfway deadline
Jul 30, 2026 Confirmed
Passed. 1,616 satellites were due; about 392 were in orbit. The FCC didn't extend it. Its order DA 26-553 (Jun 5, 2026) reads: limited waiver granted, with conditions, so the license continues. The deadline for all 3,232 satellites by Jul 30, 2029 stands.
Amazon's latest stated timing
“Remains on track to begin initial service of its Amazon Leo low Earth orbit satellite service later this year”
Amazon, Announced. Amazon hasn't named the locations or said whether the US is among them. A US home start date is Not announced.
Next launch with an announced date
Targeted, pending range approval Nov 13, 2026 Planned
LV-01, Amazon's first launch on a ULA Vulcan VC6L, carrying 40 satellites; Amazon set the date on Oct 28, 2026. Then LE-04 on an Ariane 6, no earlier than Nov 23, 2026, with 36 satellites. Neither has flown, and launch dates can slip. The latest launch was LA-08 on Jul 2, 2026.
The road so far
- First full launchconfirmed
- Kuiper renamed Amazon Leoconfirmed
- First Ariane 6 launchconfirmed
- Halfway deadline passesour calculation
- “Later this year”confirmed
The full launch log, FCC deadlines and the satellite count by mission are on the tracker.
Two networks
How many satellites do Starlink and Amazon Leo have?
By tracker counts on Nov 2, 2026, Starlink had 11,214 satellites in orbit and Amazon Leo 392; neither company publishes an exact live count, so both figures come from public tracking data. Starlink has been selling to US homes for years; Amazon Leo is still building toward its first service. Drag the divider to compare.
At a glance
How do Amazon Leo and Starlink compare for a US home?
On the facts read Nov 3, 2026, a US home can order Starlink on starlink.com, at a monthly price its address sets, while Amazon Leo has no US home service, price, dish price or start date. Its speeds are Amazon's preliminary per-antenna figures. The table puts the same questions to both networks, each answer with its status and check date, and every row links to the page with the detail.
| Question | Starlink | Amazon Leo | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can a US home order it? | Yes, on starlink.com Confirmed checked Some areas are sold out; your address sets the final price. | Not available to order for homes (no consumer sales) Confirmed checked | If your home needs internet now, only a service you can actually order counts. Waiting has a cost. |
| When home service starts | Serving US homes now Confirmed checked | Not announced checked Amazon's latest target (Oct 29, 2026): Initial service later in 2026. Not tied to the US. | Waiting only makes sense if there is a date. A plan without a date, area or price is hard to wait for. |
| Monthly price | $49.50/mo to $143/mo Confirmed checked Residential 100 Mbps (available in select areas) to Residential Max: levels from Starlink's national list, read Nov 3, 2026. Your address sets your price. | Not announced checked | The monthly bill is the biggest cost over a year or more. |
| Dish and up-front cost | $0, $99 or $199 Confirmed checked One-time activation on a rented kit, plus a monthly rental fee shown at checkout. Whether you rent or buy varies with the offer for your address; every Residential plan on Starlink’s national list rented it on Nov 3, 2026. | Not announced checked | Up-front hardware cost and rental fees change the first-year total a lot. |
| Contract | Month-to-month plans without long-term commitments; some offers in select markets require one Confirmed checked | Not announced checked | A commitment or early-change fee limits your options if a better service arrives. |
| Advertised download speed | 80–100 Mbps down, 15–35 Mbps up Confirmed checked Residential 100 Mbps; expected, not guaranteed. | Nano up to 100 Mbps, Pro up to 400 Mbps Announced checked Per antenna, from Amazon’s preliminary testing; not measured by anyone else. | Advertised ranges show what each service promises; they are not guarantees. |
| Small portable dish | $149 Confirmed checked Starlink Mini kit, on sale now. | Not announced checked Leo Nano is announced; no price or sale date. | A small, low-power dish matters for travel, backup power and outbuildings. |
| Satellites in orbit | 11,214 satellites Reported checked Tracker count (Jonathan McDowell), Nov 2, 2026. | 392 satellites in orbit Our calculation checked Tracker count, Nov 2, 2026. Amazon’s own figure: “nearly 400”. | More satellites in orbit generally means more capacity and coverage, though capacity per satellite differs. |
| Alaska | Serves Alaska, with higher latency than the lower 48 Confirmed checked | Not served for most of Alaska by the first-generation design; FCC waived the all-50-states coverage rule for this reason Confirmed checked | Rural Alaska households have few options; a network that can't reach their latitude is no option at all. |
“Not announced” means Amazon hasn’t published it; we never estimate a Leo price or date. Satellite counts are tracker counts, not company figures.
How it works
How does satellite internet reach a rural home?
A dish on your roof talks to a satellite overhead, which relays to a ground station wired into the internet. Low-orbit networks like Starlink, and Amazon Leo once it opens, fly far lower than the older geostationary services, so the round trip is much shorter.
Orbits and latency, in plain words · How many satellites are up
Decision tool
Not sure which side of the line you’re on?
Answer a few questions about your connection, your timing and your budget, and get one of four dated answers with the rules shown. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Background photo, toned by us: Photo: NASA (public domain)
What is still unknown about Leo against Starlink?
Is Amazon Leo better than Starlink?
Nobody can say yet. By our Nov 3, 2026 check, Amazon hasn't published a US home price (Not announced), a start date (Not announced) or a latency figure, and nobody outside Amazon has tested it at a home. Its speeds are Amazon's preliminary claims per antenna. Starlink can be ordered today. We'll compare again, row by row, when Amazon publishes US plans; the tracker logs every change.
Can I get Amazon Leo now?
Not for households as of 2026-11-03. You can only join Amazon's e-mail list; terminals are not yet FCC-authorized or offered for sale or lease. Select businesses are testing it in a private preview. Confirmed checked
Amazon's “Join the list” sign-up is for news and updates; it isn't a reservation or a place in line. Details are on the availability page.
Is Amazon Leo better than HughesNet or Viasat?
HughesNet and Viasat are geostationary satellite services you can order today, far higher up than Starlink or Leo, which is why they lag: Ookla measured median latency of 674 ms Confirmed on HughesNet and 750 ms Confirmed on Viasat (Q1 2026 checked ), against 39 ms Confirmed on Starlink. Amazon Leo is low-orbit like Starlink, but Amazon hasn't published a latency figure (Not announced).
Are there Amazon Leo reviews yet?
No. No US household can buy Amazon Leo yet (Not available to order for homes (no consumer sales) checked ), so there are no real home reviews to read. What exists are Amazon's own demonstrations and a private preview for select businesses. Anything that calls itself a Leo home review today is a guess. We'll only publish user reports that are real and citable.
How these facts were checked
Every price, date and status on this page is read from a dated source listed at the foot of the page when the site is built, and carries a label that says how sure it is. Starlink prices, plans and referral rules come from Starlink's own pages and published order data (prices checked 2026-11-03). Amazon Leo items come from Amazon's own pages and FCC filings. Satellite counts come from public trackers and are labeled as tracker counts. Read the editorial policy.
FCC orders and Census data files are fixed public records whose text can't change, so the "Facts checked" date leaves them out. We read them on Oct 25, 2026; each one is listed at the foot of the page.
Where each fact comes from
- aboutamazon.com/news/amazon-leo/project-kuiper-becomes-amazon-l… (primary source) · checked
- s2.q4cdn.com/299287126/files/doc_earnings/2026/q3/earnings-resu… (primary source) · checked
- Starlink order data: Residential, no address (primary source) · checked
- Starlink help: the Residential plans (primary source) · checked · read from the published data
- eutelsat.com (primary source) · checked
- obj.ca/telesat-to-use-space-x-rockets-for-lightspeed-launch (secondary report) · checked
- ses.com/sites/default/files/2024-12/SES_O3bmPOWER_PressFactshee… (primary source) · checked
- ast-science.com/faqs (primary source) · checked
- aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-globalstar-apple (primary source) · checked
- lightreading.com/satellite/software-failure-triggers-nationwide… (secondary report) · checked
- legal.hughesnet.com/node/811 (primary source) · checked
- viasat.com/content/dam/us-site/legal/documents/Legal_Disclaimer… (primary source) · checked
- planet4589.org/space/con/qf/stats.html (secondary report) · checked
- space.com/space-exploration/satellites/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-p… (secondary report) · checked
- docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-419052A1.pdf (primary source) · checked
- leo.amazon.com/technology (primary source) · checked
- aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/project-kuiper-satell… (primary source) · checked
- planet4589.org/space/con/kp/stats.html (secondary report) · checked
- Starlink help: sold-out areas and deposits (primary source) · checked
- docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-553A1.pdf (primary source) · checked
- planet4589.org/space/con/star/stats.html (secondary report) · checked
- Starlink help: how referral rewards work (primary source) · checked · read from the published data
- Starlink help: the demand surcharge (primary source) · checked · read from the published data
- Starlink help: US stores that sell kits (primary source) · checked · read from the published data
- Starlink's US referral terms (DOC-1882-84808-83) (primary source) · checked · read from the published data
- aboutamazon.com/news/amazon-leo/amazon-leo-uzbekistan (primary source) · checked
- newsroom.arianespace.com/arianespace-to-launch-36-amazon-leo-sa… (primary source) · checked
- leo.amazon.com (primary source) · checked
- Starlink help center article (primary source) · checked
- Starlink spec sheet (DOC-DF-1915-15313-48) (primary source) · checked · read from the published data
- Starlink order data: Roam, no address (primary source) · checked
- docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-102A1.pdf (primary source) · checked
- ookla.com/articles/starlink-hits-new-us-highs (primary source) · checked
- aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/what-is-amazon-projec… (primary source) · checked